(SANITIZED)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86-00674R000200050005-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 9, 2007
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: December 7, 1977
• Content Type: MEMO

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OGC 77-7825
7 December 1977
MEMORANDUM FOR: Records Administration Branch
STAT
STAT
SUBJECT : Authority to Exempt Information and Material from
General Declassification Schedule
1. You have requested a copy of a previous opinion of this Office to the
effect that only officials granted authority to classify materials or information at
the Top Secret level may authorize exemptions from the general declassification
requirements of Executive Order 11652. I have been unable to locate such a
paper and so provide you instead with this opinion to that effect.
2. Section 5(B) of Executive Order 11652 recognizes that classified infor-
mation or material furnished in confidence by a foreign government or international
organization, specifically covered by statute or pertaining to cryptology or
disclosing intelligence sources or methods, disclosing any matter the protection
of which is essential to national security, or which would place an individual
in immediate jeopardy, may require classification beyond that provided by the
General Declassification Schedule. It is specifically provided that
[a] n official authorized to originally classify
information or material "Top Secret" may exempt
from the General Declassification Schedule any
level of classified information of material
originated by him or under his supervision
if it falls within one of [these] categories. . . .
No other authority to so exempt material or information is provided in the Order.
The category of each such exemption must be specified in writing on the material
as well as, unless impossible to determine, a date or event upon which automatic
declassification may occur. These requirements, including the limitation of
STAT
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are restated in
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STAT
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ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY
This Notice Expires 1 .Nay 1978
27 April 1977
SECURITY MARKINGS ON GRAPHIC MATERIALS
1. Recent serious breaches of security in the handling of graphic
materials require immediate remedy. Such breaches are caused primarily
by failure to indicate the required classification or control markings
on graphic materials sent to Agency graphics and printing facilities for
preparation and distribution. The result often is the dissemination of
highly sensitive materials with no classification or control markings.
? Moreover, in the production of graphic materials numerous preliminary
sketches or printings may be made before final selection. Without
proper classification or markings, artists or printers who do not have
appropriate clearances could be involved in the work, or unmarked drafts
could be thrown in the unclassified trash.
2. Effective immediately, Agency graphics and printing facilities
will not accept job orders if the materials do not contain classification
and control markings. (If the materials are unclassified, they should be
? so marked.) The responsibility for providing such markings rests with
the originator.
FOR THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE:
0
?
?
JOHN F. BLAKE
Deputy Director
for
Administration
DISTRIBUTION: ALL EMPLOYEES (1-6)
ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY
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STAT
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#, 10~
STAT
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 Excer is
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RECORDS MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
1977
A REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY (Assistant
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM for Information, UDA
Good Afternoon Fellow Foot-soldiers,
Being in the kind of work you are in, I am sure you are familiar
with the Executive Order. Since the Carter administration is dedi-
cated to openess in government, we are presented with a threat if we
do not get on top of the classification program. Therefore, in the
future, we need to apply classification properly and sparingly.
Congress is on our back, the courts are on our backs, and the
Executive Branch is on our backs; and we have to mend our ways. Even
though the Executive Order is not good, it is all we have to work with.
Every time we classify a document, we are making a long commitment of
action we will have to take. In order to reduce the burden of classi-
fication review, we need to reduce the number of classified documents.
In order to protect our real secrets, we need to stop..protecting our
non-secrets.
What can we do., starting with you?
You have to realize that your role has changed. For many, many
years RMO's have been somewhat, if not totally ignored. Also, most of
you have probably experienced pointing out an error in an office and
have been practically thrown out. The last few years have emphasized
to top management that we can rise or fall from records. The first
thing for you to do is to use your clout. Don't let records mistakes
go unchallenged. Go to higher management levels for attention if
needed. It is important that you speak out and stand up and challenge
and question. It is important also that you do your best to pass along
any education you can. I think you all should go back and read Execu-
tive Order 11652.
What can the Agency do? It is obvious to all of us that the
guidance reaches from poor to non-existent. We are going to set up
later this year a classification management program. It will go to
the ISAS by the end of the year and will serve the whole Agency.
STAT
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There are just two basic things I want to leave with you:
1. All of you have a very personal role and a very personal
obligation to participate in the Agency's classification program.
2. You should realize and accept the fact that you have new
roles, and you should exercise them fully to make this contribution.
It is my opinion that the RMO will have to do the police action.
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ANNUAL RECORDS WNFERENCE
4 May 1977
''REVIEW OF'THE'CLASSIFICATION'SYSTEM
Why a Review?
A.', New Administration philosophy
B. Watergate legacy
C. Lessons of FOIA
1. Publish policy guides
2. Set-up,training program
Role of Records Officers
1. Records Officers have clout - Importance of Records
2. Function to monitor compliance with Ex..Order
STAT
Classification/Declassification'as 'Records 'Function
A. Declassification Program
B. Classification Management Officer in ISAS
Prospect for Changes in Classification System
A. New Executive Order
1. Expanded definitions
2. Shortened time frame for exempted material - 25 yrs.
B. Paragraph classification - Agency & Community initiatives
C. Sources & Methods
-D. 5tat u+oc j C -1ssA.
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feature
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING
Do you know why seemingly innocuous
memoranda and purely administrative doc-
uments, like this copy of Exchange, require
national security classification? Do you
know what "E2 IMPDET" means at the
bottom right corner of classified docu-
ments? If you aren't quite sure, you are not
alone-probably many Agency employees
would hedge their answers to these ques-
tions.
Over the last few years the need for
education in the use of national security
classification has become a stark reality.
With the amendments to the Freedom of
Information Act in 1974, the Agency began
reviewing documents for release to the
public. This intensive search and retrieval
process has surfaced the widespread
abuses of the classification system commit-
ted over the years because of a lack of
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Progr
Special
with the establishment o
levement and Except
complishme
awards serve
wards in May
ecogniz
exceeding job requi
or spectacular achi
value; an excep
ational activity,
brillian
63
ally p
al Ac-
4. These
performance
; a brilliant job
uctive oper-
a comparativ
chnical breakthrough
'chievement. Since 1974, a to
ards have been approved totallin
5,225. (UNCLASSIFIED)
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training. In retrospect, it appears that
Agency writers suffered from 'secretitis,'
stamping nearly every document produced
SECRET. And now, the review of these so-
called "classified" documents to determine
the legitimacy of the classification consumes
enormous amounts of time and effort on the
part of 30-
Year Review many Agency to be established this
year will involve a review of all 30-year-old
classified holdings to determine the necess-
ity for retention of national security classifi-
cation beyond the limit set by Executive
Order 11652 on national security classifica-
tion. The volume of this material which must
be reviewed prior to transfer to the National
Archives for historical preservation is esti-
mated in the thousands of cubic feet-and
that is for 1947 records alone. If Agency
classifiers had been more judicious in the
past in the application of classification, the
task of reviewing this material might not be
so mammoth. And, if we are not more
judicious today, the problem for the next
generation of officers will be even more
monstrous.
The Directorate of Administration is taking
steps to develop instructional programs to
meet the needs of Agency employees,
particularly classifying officers, in the use of
national security classification. Although the
element of sound judgment can never be
totally eliminated from classification deci-
sions, guidelines are a necessity. So, to ease
the decision-making process, the Director-
ate plans to gather, consolidate and publish
Agency guidelines, incorporating Intelli-
gence Community directives and the unwrit-
ten policies we've used in the past into a
reference handbook for classifiers.
Another classification consciousness-rais-
ing effort is a briefing program. An officer
whose specialty is national security classifi-
cation briefs new employees and authorized
classifiers on the proper use of national
security classification. Additionally, arrange-
ments are being made to include similar
briefings in regularly scheduled courses so
as to reach the broadest possible audience.
She is available to brief others who feel their
offices require updating of their knowledge
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25X1
25X1
and responsibilities vis-a-vis For
further information contact the system. on
extension)
The Directorate takes seriously our com-
pliance with the spirit of Executive Order
11652 to classify less. One aspect of compli-
ance in which we have been somewhat
negligent is the requirement to classify
documents by paragraph. To remedy this
situation and bring us more into conform-
ance with other agencies, a regulation on
paragraph classification has been circulated
for coordination. Hopefully, this procedure
will force writers to stop to reflect on the
classification they assign to paragraphs of
documents and common sense will prevail
over the automaticity of classification.
If you can't answer the questions at the
beginning of this article, perhaps you are
guilty of classification by rote. The four
Rules for Classifiers are meant to increase
your classification consciousness:
? Challenge classification decisions you
feel are not correct.
*Classification. decisions should be
made consciously, not automatically.
? If you are a classifier, remember it's
your number that appears on the
documents. So, be sure you under-
stand the rationale for the classifica-
tion.
? The concept of individuality applies;
every document is classified on its own
merit. (UNCLASSIFIED)
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